This invention relates to a restraint device which is designed for use in combination with conventional automobile safety belt or similar web-type restraint systems. The conventional restraints are designed primarily for use by adults of "average" size, but are routinely used in fact by adults of relatively smaller stature or by young children. As a result, there is a substantial existing need for a relatively simple but effective device for adapting conventional web-type restraint systems for more effective use by individuals including children of varying size.
Literally generations of individuals in this country have grown accustomed to the routine of sitting down in the family automobile and inserting the hasp of the seat belt into the catch or clasp. Despite the more recent focus on the desirability of air bags as a restraint system, the conventional seat belt, and the three-point restraint system in particular, remains the predominant restraint system in use today and for the foreseeable future. And, while the three point restraint system has greatly enhanced the safety of automotive travel over the use of a lap belt alone, these systems are not designed for use by persons of varying stature due to practical or regulatory limitations.
In response to the still alarming number of serious injuries or fatalities and particularly those involving young children, an increasing number of states have moved in recent years to enact laws which mandate the use of safety belts by adults and specially designed auxiliary carriers by children. Many of the specially designed child carriers are designed for use by children up to about 40 lbs. in weight while it would be desirable to encourage use of specially designed restraints by children up to at least about 8 years of age. On the other hand, older children simply refuse to use specialized seats such as booster seats as they get older and often prior to age four.
An additional dilemma arises when children travel by air with their families. Even young children routinely fly without using any specialized restraint whatsoever. In response to the alarming number of juvenile fatalities in airline crashes where the adult parents have survived, the National Transportation Safety Board has recently indicated that restraints will be required in the future for all children traveling with their parents on domestic flights. Unfortunately, parents travelling by air with small children are already required to transport what seems to be an endless mound of miscellaneous child-related paraphernalia which, with the addition of a full-size car seat, will leave many parents to simply abandon air travel as an alternative. Accordingly, there also exists a need for a compact device which can be used to restrain the child but which is lightweight and easily transportable for limited use where the protection of a larger car seat, for example, is not required.
Various devices have been suggested over the years for modifying web-type restraint systems such as the conventional system used in automobiles. Most of these devices are designed specifically to modify the shoulder harness of the combination shoulder and lap restraint or "three point" seat restraint as it is commonly known. Curiously, these attempts are virtually all addressed to modifying the restraint-- not for purposes of safety--but to avoid wrinkling the apparel worn by adult occupants. Representative examples include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,609,205 to McKeevet and 4,832,367 to Lisenby for strap-like members which modify the vertical run of the shoulder harness. Devices of this type have a fundamental flaw when viewed from a safety standpoint. The dynamic forces resultant from a high speed impact (20 G's, for example) will likely cause devices that link the shoulder belt to the lap belt to pull the lap belt portion upward into the abdominal viscera, causing possible internal injury or submarining by the occupant under the lap portion of the restraint. The readily releasable nature of the Lisenby straps which use Velcro presents an additional problem with the security of the device under these same conditions which are customarily experienced during an impact.
Other approaches for modifying shoulder harnesses involve the use of auxiliary strap systems such as depicted, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,236,755 to Pollitt et al. and in 4,289,352 to Ashworth in which a plurality of straps are provided for the purpose of augmenting the conventional three-point systems for use with persons of smaller stature. These devices require permanent modifications to the existing restraints, however, or are so complex that many adults would prefer to solve a Rubik's Cube.RTM. puzzle than to attempt to deploy such a system in their automobiles.
Simplified shoulder belt adjusters are depicted in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,786,078 to Schreier et al. and in 4,796,919 to Linden. These devices are substantially simpler than the devices depicted in Pollitt et al. or Ashworth, but still possess shortcomings of their own. The FIGURES in the Linden patent, for example, reveal that while the resulting adjustment to the vertical run of the belt appears desirable, the lap belt portion of the three-point system is spaced away substantially from the child's abdomen as shown and at a relative position which is elevated in relation to the lap area. Consequently, under conditions of an actual impact or a hard stop, the soft flesh in the child's abdominal area again may be exposed to extreme forces which unnecessarily increase the likelihood of possible internal injuries. In addition, the vertical run of the restraint system or shoulder harness can only be modified in systems where the entire vertical run of belt is accessible whereas most conventional restraint systems have concealed retractors. For example, all rear seats have concealed retractors which would render the device useless in this environment. In a related vein, both the Linden and Schreier, et al. devices adversely affect the automatic adjustment capabilities of the restraint system since one or more of the runs of the web restraint are restricted.
As the representative prior art itself reflects, and as the parent or grandparent of any young child can attest, there is a substantial need in the marketplace for a simplified restraint device which is effective to maximize the safety aspects of conventional systems when used by adults of relatively small stature or by children. There is also a related need for a restraint device which can be easily transported from one vehicle to another, which is lightweight, comfortable for the adult occupant or child, and which can be easily used in combination with conventional seat belt retractor systems by young and old alike. A portable device is also desired for use in solving the distinct need presented for airline travelers and especially if the regulations proposed by the National Transportation Safety Board are adopted. If sufficiently lightweight devices can be achieved, the airlines themselves may elect to provide such restraints for use by their passengers as an additional service.